Barrel-tongs.



No. 630,366. Patented Aug. 8, I899. D. B. LE VAN.

BARREL TONGS.

(Application flled' Dec. 29, 1898.)

No Model.)

JIM

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL B. LE VAN, OF CALDWELL, IDAHO.

BARREL-TONGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 630,366, dated August8, 1899.

Application filed December 29, 1898. Serial No. 700,602. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, DANIEL 13. LE VAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Caldwell, in the county of Canyon and State of Idaho, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Barrel-Ton gs and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art towhichitappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to barrel-tongs, the object being to provide animproved device of this class which can be manipulated with rapidity andease in suspending, rolling, or shipping barrels or kegs.

My object is, particularly, to provide improved engaging devices wherebyattachment to the barrel is had at the chimes thereof and also novelmeans for locking the tongs.

Having the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention isembodied in barreltongs com'prising certain improved features andcombinations of parts described hereinafter and set forth in theappended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View; Fig. 2, adetail of one of the rollers and its fastening, and Figs. 3 and 4details of the locking mechanism.

The arms 1 and 2 of the tongs are of barsteel and pivoted together at 3.Their extremities are twisted out of the planes of their length intofingers 4 and 5, which are disposed at an angle to the arms and aresubstantially parallel to each other.

There are two rollers 6 and 7, of hard wood or metal, which arejournaled on pins orstuds 8 and 9. These pins have heads 10, which arecountersunk in the faces of therollers, while their other ends are alsoheaded and loosely received in openings 11 in the fingers. This loose orswiveled connection as used with the rollers constitutes a "aluable partof the presentinvention. The rollers are the means employed forattaching the tongs to the barrel by engaging and running against thechimes of the same, and by reason of the loose connection they canassume various angles, so that no matter how large or how small thebarrel may be or what the position of the tongs relatively thereof afirm hold is obtainable.

' There is a handle 12, preferably of wood, composed of two longitudinalhalves, which are fastened together by bolts 13 and 14:,leaving a slot15 between them. The inner faces of the halves have grooves 16. Theshort end of arm 1 is pivoted on bolt 14, while the short end of arm 2slides in the slot 15 and is provided with a cross-stud 17, whose endsslide in the two grooves 16. This improved connection permits freerelative movement of the arms, but assists the locking-catch in securing them in fixed relation when necessary.

The numeral 18 represents a locking-catch which is pivoted to the shortend of arm 2 and is pressed by a spring 19 into engagement with anynotch of a series 20 provided on the handle.

When using the device, the locking-catch is released and the rollersapplied to the ends of the barrel. They are then pressed up against theends or heads of the barrel as far as possible and the catch allowed tosnap into a notch on the handle. The operator on grasping the handle, tohandle the barrel, will pull the edges of the rollers against the chimesof the barrel, and the latter can then be pulled about, suspended, orhandled as desired with the greatest ease, the rollers meanwhile runningagainst the chimes. The loose connections of the rollers with thefingers is of great advantage, because they permit the device to assumedifferent positions without becoming disengaged from the barrel.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a device of the class described, the combination with armsconnected together for relative movement, of a member connected to onearm and having a slot and grooves, said other arm having its end movablein the slot and provided with a cross pin or stud slidable in thegrooves, and means for looking the said movable arm to the member atdifferent point-s.

2.111 a device of the class described, the for "locking the said movablearm to the combination with arms pivoted together, of' handle: e studsor pins loosely connected to the arms, In testimony whereof I affix mysignature rollers journaled on the studs or pins, a hanin presence oftwo witnesses.

5 die connected to one arm and having a slot DANIEL B. LE VAN.

and grooves and engaging devices, said other Witnesses: arm beingslidable in the slot and having a' M. B. SEBREE,

cross-pin movable in the grooves, and a catch CHAS. V. PINNEY.

